OmniFocus from a game controller
The OmniFocus layout is built into InputConfig, free on the Mac App Store. You don't have to make an account, there are no subscriptions, and nothing is locked. Optimized for Apple silicon.
On a Mac: OmniFocus reads these keys like a keyboard. The catalog rows come from the Notes layout; Command N for a new action matches, and the rest are listed in OmniFocus's Help menu.
Yes, you can get around OmniFocus on a Mac from a game controller, and the most important row already works: Command N on the big button makes a new action. The layout borrows the Notes rows, so three face buttons need OmniFocus's own keys. Once they have them, Quick Entry from any app is the best trick here.
The layout, control by control
How the layout thinks
- Capture. New action (Command N) on the bottom face button, as shipped.
- Point and scroll. The left stick is the pointer, the right stick scrolls, the right trigger clicks.
- Back out. Escape on Start closes a sheet or a field.
- Notes leftovers. The right, left and top face buttons send Notes' bold, checklist and copy keys.
Give three buttons OmniFocus's keys
- You: Open OmniFocus's Help, Keyboard Shortcuts. Put its complete key on the right face button, and its perspective keys on the D-pad: Inbox, Projects, Tags and Forecast are the four most people use.
- InputConfig: Sends those keys from the next press.
- Check: Press the right face button on a selected action and watch it tick off. Press each D-pad direction and the perspective changes.
Complete and the four perspectives are what turn the Notes rows into an OmniFocus layout.
Tune it
- Quick Entry. OmniFocus's global Quick Entry key works from any app. Put it on the touchpad press.
- Dictation. Add a Start Dictation row on a bumper. Open Quick Entry, speak, and press Return.
- Defer and due. Put their keys from the same list behind a chord.
A thought caught from the couch is a task that does not get lost.
Get it in two clicks
- Get InputConfig free on the Mac App Store, open it, and click Smart Preset Maker on the welcome screen.
- Search for OmniFocus and pick it. The layout is created as a preset in your sidebar, named and ready.
- Press Activate. Every row can be changed afterwards: the editor's Scan button rebinds any control the moment you touch it.
Every binding, as a table
| Controller | Sends | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Left stick left | Mouse motion left (speed 16) | Cursor left |
| Left stick right | Mouse motion right (speed 16) | Cursor right |
| Left stick up | Mouse motion up (speed 16) | Cursor up |
| Left stick down | Mouse motion down (speed 16) | Cursor down |
| Right stick down | Scroll down | Scroll down |
| Right stick up | Scroll up | Scroll up |
| Right trigger | Left click | Click |
| A / Cross | Command (Left), N | New note (Cmd+N) |
| B / Circle | Command (Left), B | Bold (Cmd+B) |
| X / Square | Command (Left), Shift (Left), L | Checklist (Cmd+Shift+L) |
| Y / Triangle | Command (Left), C | Copy |
| Start / Options | Escape | Close / Esc |
Button names follow the Xbox / PlayStation pair shown in the editor, so A / Cross is the bottom face button on either pad. On a Switch Pro Controller the bottom button is labeled B; the mapping still fires on position.
Questions
Why do some buttons do the wrong thing in OmniFocus?
The rows come from the Notes layout. Change the right, left and top face buttons to OmniFocus's own shortcuts from its Help menu.
Related
Completely free. You don't have to make an account, there are no subscriptions, and nothing is locked. Optimized for Apple silicon. Open source on GitHub.
Updated